Texans tough assignment for short-handed Patriots

FOXBORO -- The Houston Texans appear to be on the verge of taking the next step in the progression toward becoming a consistent playoff threat.

In order for this to happen the Texans have to show they can not only hold their own, but beat, the best teams in the NFL. And there is no bigger stepping-stone than the New England Patriots for any AFC club looking to prove itself.

The Texans (2-0) will put their undefeated record on the line against the unbeaten Patriots (2-0) at Gillette Stadium Thursday at 8:25 p.m.

"The Texans are a great football team," said Patriots' head coach Bill Belichick. "They do a lot of things well."

Despite not playing with quarterback Tom Brady, who is serving a four-game suspension for his alleged role in "Deflategate," and tight end Rob Gronkowski (hamstring) in the first two games, the Patriots continue to win.

"We're 2-0, which is good," said Belichick. "Certainly (there are) a lot of things that we can do better. We can coach better, we can play better, we can overall in different units execute better collectively, not just individually . . . We've all got a lot of work to do."

Third-year QB Jimmy Garoppolo has played extremely well in Brady's absence. Garoppolo led the Patriots to a season-opening win at favored Arizona, and followed that up by throwing three TD passes against Miami before suffering a right shoulder injury late in the first half of Sunday's victory.

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How quickly Garoppolo's shoulder heals remains to be seen. He was listed as a limited participant at Tuesday's practice. It may very well come down to a game time decision as to whether Garoppolo, who reportedly has a sprained AC joint, plays.

Should Garoppolo be a no-go, rookie Jacoby Brissett, a third round pick out of North Carolina State, who played the entire second half against Miami, would most likely start. Since the Patriots hadn't signed another QB by Wednesday afternoon, if Garoppolo doesn't dress for the game, receiver Julian Edelman, who was a QB at Kent State, would be Brissett's backup. You have to believe there are some plays designed specifically to run with Edelman at QB.

So the Texans have had to spend the past few days game planning for Garoppolo, Brissett, Edelman and possibly some unknown QB signed off the street. Houston head coach Bill O'Brien, an Andover native, is a former Patriots assistant who knows Belichick will devise a competitive offensive scheme.

"It's definitely challenging not really knowing who will be the quarterback, but there's not much we can do about that," said O'Brien. "We just need to prepare for the plays that we're seeing on tape or maybe some other things that we think may happen in the game."

Houston is the defending AFC South champ. New England beat the Texans, 27-6, in Houston last year. The Patriots are 3-0 against the Texans at home and 6-1 all-time.

If Houston can't win in Foxboro playing the Patriots with Brady suspended, Garoppolo hurting and the likelihood of Brissett making his first NFL start, it would be hard to consider the Texans a legitimate contender in the AFC.

Houston has a nasty defensive front that is led by former Patriots' nose guard Vince Wilfork and end J.J. Watt.

Texans' QB Brock Osweiler, who signed a four-year $72 million free agent deal in the off-season, has passed for 499 yards and three TDs. Osweiler led Denver to a win over the Patriots last season.

"(I'm) really impressed with his poise and toughness," said Belichick. "He has been hit a few times, but he really hangs in there, keeps his eyes down field, sees the coverage well."

Houston has a pair of game-breaking receivers in DeAndre Hopkins and Will Fuller, and an all-purpose back in Lamar Miller.

The Patriots' offense could use another big game from running back LeGarrette Blount, who rushed for 123 yards and a TD against Miami.

"We're going to have to play a good solid football game in all three phases," said Belichick. "(Houston is) 2-0 because they've played well two weeks in a row."

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